Spitting Image
by TwoCentsForFree
Summary: Aaron Burr felt the color drain from his face. Of course the son of the man he'd shot to death would be handling his wife's divorce case; surely God must be punishing him…


**A/N: I don't own anything.**

 **Spitting Image**

 **Aaron Burr felt the color drain from his face. Of course the son of the man he'd shot to death would be handling his wife's divorce case; surely God must be punishing him…**

The first thing the man saw when he walked into the courtroom was his wife seated at one of the tables. Standing next to her, he figured, was her attorney. His suspicions were confirmed when the young man turned to the judge and announced himself.

"Alexander Hamilton, representing the Plaintiff in this matter, Your Honor." Aaron Burr felt the color drain from his face. Of course the son of the man he'd shot to death would be handling his wife's divorce case; surely God must be punishing him. For hours, he sat silent watching Hamilton argue. The kid was exactly like his father; same intense, dark eyes. Same shaggy hair. Same love of his own voice and inability to shut up. Same passion for justice. Aaron knew that he had to say something, lest each day of the hearing be freshly torturous.

"Mr. Hamilton!" he called out, pushing through the throng of people on the city street after court had adjourned for the day. Alexander turned, instantly taken by feelings of hostility.

"Mr. Burr," came the curt reply. "I won't entertain anything you have to say in relation to the case." The older man nodded.

"Of course. I just…" His voice trailed off, and he tried to think of something of value to say. "Your father would be very proud of you, AJ." The young man stiffened at the use of his childhood nickname, and squeezed his eyes shut against his earliest memories of Aaron Burr joining his family for dinner, staying late, talking and laughing with his father. And still, an even more vague recollection fought its way to the front of his mind...

 _(Flashback)_

 _The office door opened, and the three-year-old boy was ushered inside, followed closely by his mother._

 _"What's all this?" his father asked, turning from the other man present to face his wife and son. Surely they knew better than to disturb him while he was working._

 _"Your son didn't want to take his nap this afternoon," Eliza explained, looking only slightly irritated. Alexander looked his namesake in the eye._

" _Oh, really? Is that true, AJ?" The child nodded, grinning impishly._

" _Don't wanna nap. Wanna play." The woman shook her head._

" _And in lieu of making him stay in the nursery and risk waking up his brother, I thought that maybe he could stay in here with you?" The elder Alex didn't seem like he was happy, but looked at his co-counsel._

" _Any objections, Mr. Burr?" A shrug._

" _Fine by me."_

" _Alright, fine." AJ was excited; spending time with Papa was much better than taking a nap_! He _started off in the corner of the room, idly turning the pages of a book he couldn't yet read. He grew tired of it and moved to sit closer to the other men._

" _What doin', Papa?" he asked._

" _Mr. Burr and I are working on a very important case, son," came the answer. "Anyway, Aaron…" AJ sighed. Papa was talking about work again. Maybe this wasn't as much fun as he'd thought it would be. "All that's left to do is to prepare questions for our client's testimony-" AJ's ears perked up. That was a funny word._

 _"Papa? What's tess-mony?" Hamilton was trying not to lose his patience. There were few things he disliked more than being interrupted, especially when working._

 _"Alexander,_ _please,_ _I already told you, we're very—" AJ braced himself to get lectured, but another voice cut in. Mr. Burr was sticking up for him._

" _Hang on a second, Alex. That was a good question." He turned to the boy. "A testimony is…it's like a story that you tell in court, where your Papa and I work."_

" _Story?!" AJ liked stories._

" _Well, kind of. But they're actually quite boring. Know what makes a much better story?" The child shook his head. "Blackbeard the Pirate! Would you like to hear that story instead?"_

"Yeah!" Burr chuckled.

" _Alright, but you need to promise that you'll be quiet after, and let your Papa and I finish our work, deal?" AJ nodded, climbing into the visitor's lap._

" _Deal."_

" _Burr, what the hell are you doing?" the other man asked._

" _Just wait, alright? I have a hunch." came the reply. Hamilton rolled his eyes._

" _But waiting is your thing, Aaron. I don't wait." A sigh._

" _Then prepare the testimony questions. When I'm done, we'll review them." Then, at last: "Once upon a time, there was a pirate…" AJ tried really hard to fight the drooping feeling in his eyelids, but it was just too strong. Before sleep claimed him completely, he heard his father mutter,_

 _"Well, I'll be damned..." Then, Aaron Burr's voice._

 _"I told you so."_

The memory faded as quickly as it came. The young man glared at the old man before him; the strong arms that had held him so well now hung limp at his side. The once clear voice was quieter, now. Feeble.

Right or wrong, all he could see was his father's murderer.

"I go by Alexander now," he spat. "And yes, my father would be very proud, of me and all of his children. It's a damn shame he couldn't watch us grow up." To that, Aaron Burr had nothing to say. They stared at each other for a tense moment.

"I loved your father very much, Alexander," he managed at last. "He was one of my dearest friends. And whether you believe me or not, I regret what happened that day. And I knew that if I didn't at least say that much to you, the Lord would surely strike me dead before even a settlement could be reached." Hamilton nodded.

"If you'll excuse me, sir, I must now get home to my wife."

"Your wife?" Aaron hadn't noticed the ring on the young man's finger. Alexander nodded, softening at the mention of his love.

"Eliza Knox-Hamilton. We married just a few years ago." The old man smiled.

"Alexander and Eliza." _Of course._ "Any children?"

"Not yet, no."

"In good time, I'm sure." He turned to go. "Goodnight, Alexander."

"Goodnight, Mr. Burr, sir." As the men parted ways, Alexander Hamilton could hear Aaron Burr laughing all the way down the street.

 **A/N: Mild historical inaccuracies can be found in the fact that I made Alexander Hamilton Jr. a younger man than he was when he repped for Aaron Burr's wife in their divorce proceedings. (How awesome is that, anyway? AND Alex Jr. really did marry a girl named Eliza). So yeah. Please drop a review if you made it this far!**


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